1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to protective devices for fruit and vegetable plants and more particularly, to a guard structure for tomato plants which includes a pair of wire mesh enclosures of dissimilar size, the smaller enclosure being anchored to the ground and adapted to support the larger enclosure. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the larger enclosure is a wire mesh cylinder provided with a wire mesh lid which is hingedly attached to the upper rim of the cylinder and the guard structure is designed to enclose and protect one or more tomato plants and the tomatos growing thereon, from birds, squirrels and other animals which might eat or damage the fruit. In another most preferred embodiment, the bottom enclosure is tapered like a funnel from a small bottom ring to a larger top ring and is covered with wire mesh and fitted with three spaced, wire legs which extend into the ground to support both the bottom funnel-shaped enclosure and top cylinder in an upright configuration. The opposite ends of the legs extend into the cylinder to support a still larger third ring and to maintain the cylinder on the bottom enclosure and further support the plant or plants. Access to the guard structure is provided by the hinged lid which can be opened to pick the ripe fruit growing on the plant(s).
One of the problems which has long been realized in the growing of fruits and vegetables is that of consumption and damage of the ripened fruit by birds and animal predators in the field. Tomatos are particularly susceptible to damage by birds and other animals such as squirrels, mice and the like, and many millions of dollars are lost annually in the growing of field tomatos by such predators. The problem is also vexing to the backyard gardener who normally cultivates a small number of tomato plants for home consumption and often loses much of his crop to birds who feed on or peck the ripened fruit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of plant protectors have been developed and are known in the art for a variety of protective purposes. Typical of these protective devices is the "Plant Protector" detailed in the early U.S. Pat. No. 327,510, dated Oct. 6, 1885, to G. Anderson. The device includes a perforated shell having a cover which is located within the shell under the upper end thereof and provided with a raised lip and an eyelet for hinging the cover to the shell Another plant protector is detailed is U.S. Pat. No. 1,552,445, dated Sept. 8, 1925, to M. Peres. The device is characterized by a perforated body positioned over a plant to be protected and equipped with a separate cover which is removable from contact with the body. Rods carried by the body serve to anchor the body to the ground and the upper ends of the rods impinge against the top of the cover. U.S. Pat. No. 1,739,426, dated Dec. 10, 1929, to J. A. Stripling, further describes a "Plant Protector". This plant protector device includes an open-ended cylinder adapted to be anchored in the ground around a plant to enclose the plant and a perforated body open at the lower end and closed at the upper end, with the lower open end of the perforated body encircling the upper portion of the cylinder. A band extends around the lower edge of the perforated body and is secured to the adjacent portion of the cylinder and offset brackets are secured to the upper portion of the cylinder for limiting the insertion of the cylinder in the ground. Another plant protector is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,780,950, dated Nov. 11, 1930, to J. Stevason. The device is characterized by a metal strap having a corrugation intermediate the side edges thereof and arranged with the lower side edge of the strap adapted for earth penetration, a hood including a dome-like fabric portion and a hood support having a fabric-supporting rim and arms supported thereby and projecting upwardly for sustaining the hood in dome formation. The device is designed to protect a plant which is located beneath the dome. U.S. Pat. No. 1,926,053, dated Sept. 12, 1933, to O. B. Morgan, covers another "Plant Protector". The device includes a wire mesh, dome-shaped housing for enclosing a plant and a wire mesh base flange extending outwardly of and downwardly from the housing in a substantially square configuration, whereby the corners of the flange provide cutting, pointed projections for penetrating the earth surrounding the plant, in order to frustrate burrowing rodents. A "Trellis and Plant Protector" is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,009,867, dated July 30, 1935, to F. J. Ball. The device is characterized by a plurality of vertically-spaced, closed, hollow elements with peripherally-spaced wires connecting and spacing the elements, the wires extended to provide supporting means adapted to enter the ground and operatively position the trellis over a plant. A light-diffusing covering for both the sides and the top of the trellis is provided, in order to protect the plants from direct sun rays. An aperture is also provided in the top covering of the trellis to facilitate entry of rainwater. U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,959, dated June 18, 1974, to George S. Nalle, Jr., details a "Plastic Guard for Protecting Young Trees, Plants and Flowers". The guard includes a one-piece, extruded length of tubular mesh formed by intersecting thermoplastic filaments. The tubular mesh is bonded to an elongated, thermoplastic, extruded stake for anchoring the tubular mesh to the ground. The tubular mesh surrounds the plant to be protected, while the stake portion of the structure holds the tubular mesh in the desired position U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,844, dated Aug. 2, 1983, to Tom Jopson, includes a "Device to Support Flexible Netting Used to Protect Plants from Damage by Animals and Adverse Environmental Conditions". The protective device detailed in this patent is designed to support a flexible netting for protecting plants, especially seedlings, from browsing wildlife such as deer. The device includes a metal or plastic wicket having two legs which are inserted in the ground and shaped to define a space, within which space the plant is shielded by the netting when the netting is disposed around and supported by the wicket. A copy of the above described patents is provided herein.
It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved guard structure for tomato plants, which guard structure is characterized by a first ground-supported, mesh-covered enclosure having a selected cross-sectional area and a second enclosure of larger cross-sectional area, also covered with mesh and supported by the bottom enclosure, which enclosures receive one or more tomato plants and protect the plant(s) and the ripened fruit from birds and other animals.
Another object of the invention is to provide a guard structure for enclosing tomato plants, which guard structure includes a pair of cylinders having mesh sides and dissimilar diameters, the smaller cylinder being ground supported and designed to support the larger cylinder, wherein one or more tomato plants are enclosed within the two cylinders, and further including a hinged top provided on the top cylinder for gaining access to the interior of the cylinders and picking the tomatos.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a guard structure for tomato plants which is characterized by a pair of wire mesh cylinders, the first cylinder of which is tapered from a small to a larger diameter, is ground-supported and supports a larger top cylinder, wherein a tomato plant is surrounded by and enclosed within the two cylinders and the ripening tomatos are protected by the wire mesh from consumption by birds and animals.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved guard structure for one or more tomato plants which includes a pair of cylindrical enclosures having the sides thereof covered with wire mesh, the first of which enclosures is tapered from a small diameter at the bottom to a larger diameter at the top and is smaller than the second, which first enclosure is supported by spaced legs projecting into the ground, the legs extending from the ground upwardly to support the larger top enclosure, and further including a hinged wire mesh lid attached to the top rim of the top enclosure, for providing access to and harvesting the ripe fruit on the tomato plant(s).
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved enclosure and guard for protecting tomatos and tomato plants from injury and damage due to predators such as birds, which guard includes a tapered, funnel-shaped bottom enclosure having a wire or plastic mesh side, three legs supporting the bottom enclosure and extending upwardly in spaced relationship to a ring having a diameter which is larger than the largest diameter of the bottom enclosure, the legs further terminating in outwardly-extending supports which support a larger enclosure frame of selected shape and also covered with a wire or plastic mesh.